16 year old's life lesson

[Schrup]

I gave my 16 year old daughter my 96 Mustang last Friday when she got her license. It only took 3 days to turn what was a nice unmolested car into a beater. She claims someone hit her in a parking lot while she was in class. She attends art school downtown close to a methadone clinic, so it could have been another student or a junkie, if her story is indeed true. I have never caught her lying to me, so I need concrete (pun intended) evidence if I'm to confront her.

This is perhaps a blessing in disguise for me, because I now have suffient cause to seriously curtail her use of the car. Basically she will only drive the car when it's covenient for me, like to her dance classes, to her new job she has yet to look for, & her moms house. No more driving to school.

What bothers me the most is the big scuff on the left corner of the front bumper, she has no idea how that got there. I wonder what she hit that time. I plan to take her back tracking Saturday morning & maybe get a better idea of what happened & possible spot what ever she hit. Here are some pics of the carnage.

[RickM]

Oh no....the good thing is that she's ok.

That's going to cost a bit to take care of. Is she paying for the repair? That may help her realize the cost of irresponsibility. (If indeed she hit something...the scuff is the giveaway)

[Par911]

Damn, that sucks. If another vehicle caused the damage, it would have to be something with a real high clearance. If in fact someone did hit her, and fled without leaving their information, I would file a report with the police. Then I would do some investigative work, from the scratches in the photo it looks like that whatever smashed into the stang was either gray or black. Does it look like there is paint from another vehicle? The damage on the front could be from scraping a jesrsey barrier or those posts they put in parking lots. Teens and Mustangs don't go well together, right Dan ??
Good luck with the insurance company.

[Moses]

If only the car could talk.

[Schrup]

Rick, I'm certainly not paying for it to get fixed. The honorable thing for her to do would be to work her ass off this summer to make enough money to get it fixed herself. I'm guessing there's about $2k worth of damage. I dropped the insurance down to comprehensive coverage last week.

I do worry about her getting hurt. Her mom was given a mustang when she was 17 & was rearended shortly after. She has suffered from migraine headaches for nearly 25 years from the whiplash damage to her neck.

[RickM]

Paul,

16 is a bit young...I'd be a basket case worrying about my daughter.

Pari has a good point about the Police. Insist that you accompany your daughter to file a hit 'n run report w/ them. Let her know about the hi- tech techniques they have to reconstruct an accident ( ). She may fess up if she's afraid of being found out in the police station.

Also, if she says she'll live with the damage insist she get it fixed.

[jstgermaine]

I'll be getting one of THESE for my future drivers...

[Schrup]

I had strongly considered one of those Jerry. But opted to occasionally just show up where ever she might be. She is also subject to random pee tests, in fact I'll give her one in the morning. Only $12 for a in home test at Safeway.

Rick, I am going to insist she have it fixed. I am shying away from actually filing a police report because of insurance & possible restitution, unless we find the culprit. But I may use the scare tactic.

Lynn, after I got through going ballistic, I told her it was only a car & that I loved her & gave her a hug. I also don't have a relationship with my father & will judge my own success as a parent in what kind of a relationship I have with her when she's in her thirtys & how she raises her children if she has any.

[MFAFF]

Generous Dad.....

Traditionally over here getting cars just doesn't happen until you can buy one.......

Then its already a beater and so you can 'learn' in peace.

Hell, I didn't get my first til I was working full time in my first real job and could buy the thing myself.
But then I had had a couple of silly accidents in my mother's VW Polo by then...

Glad to hear she's OK.

[juanbenae]

by the looks of the tires and wheel wells could this have been the result of some urban off-roading?

glad shes ok. you make her take drug tests? im glad im old enough to have avoided that and high school exit exams. i was 18 in body but about 12 in mind and i would have failed both. i did not grow up until my mid 20's, really glad it happened that way now. im ok, my folks are some of my very best friends and i own my dream car, paid for.

good luck paul.

[RickM]

A good accident appraiser (adjuster) or someone of that nature could probably narrow down the cause of this mishap. I'm thinking it was done while trying to squeeze through a less that large enough space....at speed. You know that the spacial "feel" on the right side of a vehicle is an acquired sense.

[trj911]

That scrape looks like the arm off a post or some kind of rail. It looks like a turn was misjudged. And I, like k911sc, I was wondering about the mud on the tires, could that be involved?

[Schrup]

The mud came from her mothers driveway out in the booneys. I just talked to a cop at a accident scene when I walked to the store, he said that a police report is pretty much useless if I'm not filing a claim with the insurance company. If we do happen to find the said vehicle, it is nearly impossible to prove anything. This is what I bought at the store, sure glad they didn't have them when I was a kid, but then again I had to hitchhike till I was 19.

[RickM]

Wow, I didn't know they had tests like that.

What if the person being tested was drinking or doing one of the many other substances? This may push them towards something they know one wouldn't check for.

Not judging here, just curious.

[GWN7]

Sorry for the car, but it looks like that was a self inflicted wound. It's too high up for most bumpers on cars nowadays and it looks like a right turn mishap. The major damage starts before the door handle and lessens after.

No matter how it happened, tell her she's responsible for the repairs. Like you said it's a life lesson.

[Schrup]

They have other tests available to cover just about everything except "Shrooms". She doesn't get to see the box & doesn't know what she's being tested for. I catch her in the morning when she comes upstairs to use the bathroom, then there's no way she can beat the test. Not that I'd know how to beat a drug test. She has "Panic & Anxiety Disorders", so I don't think heavy hallucinogens or even stimulants would be real enjoyable for her, not that I'd know anything about that stuff.

[Schrup]

Oh, BTW my wife looked at the site of the "accident" this morning & reported that there was a lot of construction vehicles parked in the area. The dent has white paint on it, so it is likely that a constuction rig caused the damage. But I will still do a thorough investigation Saturday morning & try to subtly extract a confession without calling her a liar.

[pbs911]

Glad she is OK. This is something you will probably hear the true story in about 10-15 years.

She is also subject to random pee tests, in fact I'll give her one in the morning.

Dang, would I have been in trouble at your house growing up!

I'm just wondering why you would give a car to a 16 year old you suspect is suseptible to taking drugs? I'm not criticising, just wondering as I don't have any kids of my own.

[Schrup]

I think any teenager is a potential pot smoker, plus her mom caught her with some bud about 6 months ago. I have tested her since & she came up clean. She thinks it's unfair but I told her if she wants to drive then that's the way it's gonna be. Besides if I can't snap a bong now & then, then neither can she while she lives here.

[juanbenae]

paul what is the frequency of the test you administer? that really blows me away that you are so hard core about it. just dont tell us about DNA testing of her lacies, i dont want to know...


why cant you "snap" a bong ? that kind of lingo,, "snap" tells me you know the deal....